Miner's name released

Stephen Perry, 47, was fatally injured on the 4,200-foot level. He was pronounced dead at the surface.

The Greater Sudbury Police and the Ministry of Labour are investigating.

Harris has been a miner for four decades and said fatal accidents always weigh heavily on people. He said he believes worker morale was already low at Vale — and this fatal accident just makes it worse.

"[It] just adds to … the frustrations that the guys are going through," he said.

Homer Seguin, a former union leader and a champion of worker safety, said the three fatalities in Sudbury in the past year feel like a step backwards.

"It's like going back to the old days when we were having somebody killed every month,’ he recalled.